Alston & Bird have released their June 29 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
As the old proverb goes, Necessity is the Mother of Invention. The COVID-19 crisis has forced contractors to fundamentally change the way they operate. Innovative solutions have been rapidly adopted to meet the needs of limited job sites, distributed workforce and enhanced safety demands. Some quick fixes have crashed and burned or been discarded quickly for better solutions. However, some practices, software and tools have met with success and become a permanent part of operations. In this webinar, MCAA’s Director of Innovative Technologies, Sean McGuire will co-host the presentation with Milwaukee Tool’s Group Manager of Construction Technology, Tauhira Ali to cover some of the best ideas while trying to forget the worst.
Additional Resources:
This webinar was recorded Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Arden Building Companies, an MCAA member, announced recently that Paul Battaglia has joined the executive team as President of Corporate Mechanical of New England in Woburn, MA. “Paul brings strength, leadership, and passion for the industry to this role,” said Robert M. Bolton, Chief Executive Officer of Arden Building Companies. “His wealth of experience and deep knowledge of the Boston market will prove invaluable to the Arden Building Companies and Corporate Mechanical of New England team as we begin the next chapter of growing our Boston operations.”
Paul brings over fifteen years of industry and leadership experience in the Boston market to the role.
He is also a member of MCAA’s Project Managers Education Committee, the group responsible for facilitating and executing MCAA’s Institute for Project Management (IPM) and Advanced Institute for Project Management (AIPM).
MCAA member Bassett Mechanical recently announced four strategic promotions on its executive leadership team. Kim Bassett, President & CEO, said, “These executive advancements are not only well deserved, but also the next step in creating a strong future for our business and our customers who trust us to provide customized solutions for their unique needs.”
Jerod has been serving in a dual role as both Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) throughout the past year. He has been engaged with Bassett Mechanical’s HVAC, Plumbing, and Industrial Refrigeration teams and has gained advanced knowledge about the industry. Prior to joining Bassett Mechanical, Jerod worked in a variety of financial roles within Oshkosh Corporation’s Defense Segment, allowing him to bring broad experiences and skillsets to his roles at Bassett. His new role of full-time COO will allow him to make an even greater impact on the company’s sales and operations.
Craig joined Bassett Mechanical one year ago as the Senior Director of Finance. He came to the company with a background in construction and quickly expanded his role, providing valuable insights to his team and the company’s overall initiatives. In his role as CFO, Craig will be responsible for directing the financial management of the company including strategy development, budgeting, forecasting, reporting and analysis, treasury, tax, and risk management. He will also oversee the company’s procurement and IT teams.
Lee has been with Bassett Mechanical for 15 years, most recently serving as Senior Director of HVAC & Plumbing Solutions. With more than 20 years of business development and operational leadership experience, Lee has excelled in a number of roles including General Manager and Director of Operations. He has become a vital leader in all aspects of the HVAC and Plumbing segment from controls and engineering to field execution. As Vice President of HVAC & Plumbing Solutions, his role will include management of the HVAC & Plumbing segment with a focus on providing industry-leading solutions for customers’ unique needs.
Wade has held numerous business development roles within Bassett Mechanical over his 14-year career including: sales professional, sales manager, and most recently Senior Director of Business Development. He has earned several awards and obtained numerous sales training certificates through industry networks. As Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Wade will oversee new sales growth opportunities including strategic account management of the HVAC, Plumbing, and Industrial Refrigeration customer base, and lead new strategic initiatives to ensure Bassett Mechanical continues to carry out its vision of Creating Customers for Life™.
“My goal is to make sure our company is providing individualized, safe, full-service solutions for our customers,” Kim states. “That means surrounding our company with great leaders who care as much about our associates and our customers as I do. These are leaders who want to ensure our customers get the best solution and best experience with us. I want to thank Jerod, Craig, Lee, and Wade for their continued drive and passion for making our company the best it can be.”
The nation’s employment attorneys are anticipating an onslaught of lawsuits over workplace exposures to COVID-19. To help avoid these lawsuits, and mount an affirmative defense if they do occur, it is recommended that employers develop a comprehensive COVID-19 exposure control plan. A single document showing that the company is carefully following OSHA, CDC, and health department guidance, to help prevent employees from contracting and spreading the virus, would go a long way towards an affirmative defense, should a lawsuit ensue. A current comprehensive plan establishes a record showing how thoughtful and complete the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been. If you don’t have a current exposure control plan, see the MCAA Model COVID-19 Return to Work Exposure Control Plan for guidance.
Once you have established your company’s exposure control plan it is critical that you keep it updated. OSHA, CDC, health department, and local critical industries requirements change frequently due to constant COVID-19 research. Carefully monitor MCAA’s COVID-19 Resource Center to help keep your plan updated.
A LETTER FROM THE MSCA CO-CHAIRS:
The coronavirus pandemic has had a dramatic impact on all our lives, our families, our businesses and how we live and work each day. We have all been dealing with challenges unimaginable even four months ago. As an association we have tried to keep you updated on government recommendations, safety issues, new business procedures, best practices and regulatory measures that affect your current business operations. We have presented some important webinars where you have had the opportunity to hear from other contractors and how they are addressing some of these new challenges and opportunities (https://www.mcaa.org/news/mcaa-contingency-series-webinars/).
This week the decision was made by the MSCA Board of Managers to cancel this year’s annual educational conference in Scottsdale, AZ. Currently there are too many uncertainties regarding how our country and our businesses will look in October to present a live meeting safely and successfully. We then looked at the possibility of offering a virtual on-line event. In the end it was agreed that an on-line event could not provide the type of quality program that MSCA is known for nor could it adequately provide the networking and socialization that is one of the hallmarks of an MSCA conference. In lieu of an on-line event, where all programming is packed into a few short days requiring everyone to sit in front of their computer for a length of time (which, I’m sure you will agree, is getting very tiresome) we will be presenting a number of new focused programs over the next six – twelve months. We are currently working on the list of topics and presenters and will share that with all of you in the coming weeks.
This virus has forced all of us to re-evaluate and re-position our businesses to meet changing demands and address new ways of doing business. Through it all, MSCA promises to continue to provide you with the quality programming you expect and deserve, and we will continue our proud tradition of being the “education” association.
Thank you for your understanding. Looking forward to us all being together again next year in Austin, TX, October 24 – 27, 2021.
Be safe and be well.
Kip Bagley MSCA Co-Chair Mike Star MSCA Co-Chair
New Safe Harbor from the FTE Reduction Rule: In the latest IFR, the SBA discussed the new safe harbors to the FTE reduction rule in a manner that appears to be very borrower friendly. As you know, PPP loan forgiveness is reduced if you reduce your FTE count during your covered period (when compared to your reference period). The second of the two new safe harbors allows companies to ignore any FTE reductions after February 15, 2020 if they relate to an “inability to return to the same level of business activity” before February 15, 2020 as a result of guidance issued by a variety of agencies (including state and local government) that inhibits such business activity. Examples are closing non-essential businesses and reductions in businesses volume due to social distancing or sanitation guidelines, but the safe harbor can apply to a much broader set of circumstances.
Withum has included below both an excerpt from the IFR as well as an example provided in the IFR. This safe harbor does not require the business interruption to cover the entire covered period, meaning that borrowers just need to establish that a disruption occurred for some meaningful period of time during the covered period. It also does not narrowly define a disruption, allowing borrowers to potentially rely on a broad variety of different “disruptions” caused by the requirements established by these agencies. Therefore Withum believes this new safe harbor has broad applicability, including in the auto, restaurant and hospitality industries, for example, as well as in a variety of professional service industries like law and medicine.
Withum believes the safe harbor is extremely broad, and unless it is pared back by the SBA, a large number of borrowers should be able to avail themselves of it. If you have an FTE reduction during your covered period, Withum recommends that you closely review this safe harbor from the PPP Flexibility Act, as interpreted by the new IFR, to see if you can fall within it. The forgiveness application requires that you maintain documentation of the business disruption that took place and what requirement or guidance created it.
Excerpt from IFR:
Borrowers are also exempted from the loan forgiveness reduction arising from a reduction in the number of FTE employees during the covered period if the borrower is able to document in good faith an inability to return to the same level of business activity as the borrower was operating at before February 15, 2020, due to compliance with requirements established or guidance issued between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration related to the maintenance of standards for sanitation, social distancing, or any other worker or customer safety requirement related to COVID-19 (COVID Requirements or Guidance).
The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, is interpreting the above statutory exemption to include both direct and indirect compliance with COVID Requirements or Guidance, because a significant amount of the reduction in business activity stemming from COVID Requirements or Guidance is the result of state and local government shutdown orders that are based in part on guidance from the three federal agencies.
Example provided in the IFR:
A PPP borrower is in the business of selling beauty products both online and at its physical store. During the covered period, the local government where the borrower’s store is located orders all non-essential businesses, including the borrower’s business, to shut down their stores, based in part on COVID-19 guidance issued by the CDC in March 2020. Because the borrower’s business activity during the covered period was reduced compared to its activity before February 15, 2020 due to compliance with COVID Requirements or Guidance, the borrower satisfies the Flexibility Act’s exemption and will not have its forgiveness amount reduced because of a reduction in FTEs during the covered period, if the borrower in good faith maintains records regarding the reduction in business activity and the local government’s shutdown orders that reference a COVID Requirement or Guidance as described above.
Reminder Section: (what should I be doing):
Alston & Bird have released their June 25 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
MCAA members are using new solutions, teamwork and creative problem-solving to approach fast-track COVID-19 projects in their communities. W.L. Gary Company, Inc., is just one example. The MCA of Metropolitan Washington, Inc. member played a role in expanding patient care facilities in Maryland.
W.L. Gary Company assisted in the installation of a STAAT ModTM Critical Care Unit in the parking lot of the Adventist Healthcare – Fort Washington Facility in Fort Washington, MD.
To activate the modular solution, sewer and water lines from the existing utilities had to be connected to the STAAT ModTM unit. The scope of work included excavating two lines that were connected to the utilities, running new four-inch lines to a point underneath the STAAT ModTM unit, and then testing, inspecting, and backfilling the lines.
Working through challenging weather and safety conditions, the W.L. Gary Company, Inc. team, led by Foreman Daniel Valdez, completed the work in less than a week.
W.L. Gary Company, Inc. also collaborated to transform four floors of hospital office space into additional patient rooms. The team spent and a half week on construction per floor, facing several challenges along the way.
One floor’s entire medical gas system was compromised and needed to be replaced. The team prepared new medical gas lines and replaced all of the outlets in one week, resulting in over 30 patient beds.
The building’s plumbing included galvanized pipe and cast-iron drain lines that needed to be cleared and repaired to avoid future issues with the building’s restrooms.
Service elevators were shared with hospital staff and patients. To mitigate the possibility of contracting COVID-19, W.L. Gary Company, Inc. followed appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safety precautions. Team members avoided areas with coronavirus-positive patients, and an air-scrubber was installed to avoid any cross-contamination.
Steamfitters Local Union 602 member Travis Jackson, a foreman and service technician for W. L. Gary Company, Inc., juggled manpower, supplies, client expectations, and an accelerated schedule to make the project a success. Challenges were addressed as they arose, with all parties collaborating to create effective solutions for each.
Efforts like this one and those of many other MCAA members showcase the importance of teamwork in helping our communities cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re all in this together.
Masen Dinklage, a member of the MCAA Student Chapter at the University of Nebraska, is spending his third consecutive summer as a Project Management intern with The Waldinger Corporation. Through a variety of activities, he is gaining industry knowledge and building relationships that will help him succeed in his great future.
During his internship, Masen is learning about the process of submittals, RFIs, purchasing, commissioning and scheduling. “I have learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes over the course of a construction project,” he said.
“I have learned during my internship that it is important to develop relationships with co-workers, vendors and contractors,” he said, adding “These relationships can help build technical knowledge, create a more open means of communication and provide an overall better environment for work.”
Masen, a Mechanical Engineering major, plans to graduate in December 2021. He has been a member of his MCAA Student Chapter, which is sponsored by the MCA of Omaha, Inc., since January 2018.
“The MCA-Omaha student chapter has provided excellent resources to help me grow and cultivate my leadership, communication and organization skills. The chapter has helped me develop valuable relationships with industry professionals, some of such relationships helping me earn my internship.”
Masen is building on those relationships by serving as this year’s fundraising chair for the MCA of Omaha, Inc. Wine Tasting Event, which is scheduled for November. His role involves collaborating with the MCA of Omaha, Inc. team to coordinate the event.
“I look forward to building a career in this industry and am excited to build relationships and also my technical knowledge in mechanical systems,” he said.
Find student chapter members like Masen by visiting MCAAGreatFutures.org, where members have access to student profiles and resumes. The profiles are searchable by university, desired location, and even a specific skill set, like BIM or AutoCAD. A keyword filter allows users to zero in on students who fit the bill.
With the nation’s attention towards occupational safety and health on COVID-19, it’s important to remember and address the other potential hazards. One of those potential hazards is excavation cave-ins, which frequently result in fatalities without the appropriate protective systems in place.
MCAA and safety partner CNA have several excavation safety resources that are readily available to you.
MCAA’s excavation safety resources include a worker safety training video, pocket guide, training documentation sheet, 20-question multiple choice test with answer key, and an easily tailorable model excavation safety program. CNA’s excavation safety resources include damage prevention guidelines for underground utilities and a trench inspection checklist.
MCAA EXCAVATION SAFETY RESOURCES
CNA DAMAGE PREVENTION GUIDELINES
CNA TRENCH INSPECTION CHECKLIST
The Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule is an essential management tool for all construction team members when it comes to completing an on-time and financially successful project. In this webinar, John Koontz discusses how, even in the absence of receiving access to the master schedule, a contractor can provide notice and quantify delay impacts, so as not to waive important contractual rights. Providing notice and quantifying delay are just some of the issues that make obtaining the prime contractor’s native CPM scheduling files so important. Is it always easy? Or even possible? Maybe not… but John Koontz discusses best practices for how to get the GC’s CPM schedule, and even what to do if you can’t. As an added bonus, John is joined by the author of MCAA’s 2020 Change Order Productivity Primer, Paul Stynchcomb, to discuss the relationship between the Prime’s CPM Schedule and impact quantification on your end, along with important concepts relating to CPM schedule review.
Additional Resources:
This webinar was previously recorded July 7, 2020
MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show connects our contractor members with the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.
Participating companies highlight and link to new products, product lines, services, solutions or web pages of particular interest. Here are just a few of the recent additions:
Tyler Pipe & Coupling
Tyler Pipe & Coupling produces quality cast iron soil pipe and fittings and no-hub couplings in the heartland of America. Visit our website to see how quality cast iron is made right here in the USA.
AB&I Foundry
AB&I Foundry manufactures cast iron soil pipe & fittings for DWV Plumbing Systems. Visit the website to see how cast iron is made right here in America.
Find many more smart solutions in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show!
Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website to learn how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with cost-saving and productivity-enhancing applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.
This section of our website also includes tips and ideas to help your company save money and enhance your productivity. Don’t miss it!
Change to Forgiveness Process: As we all know, the Covered Period was recently changed to be either 8 weeks or 24 weeks, at the borrower’s election if the loan was issued before June 5th. This has opened the door to many companies obtaining full forgiveness of their loan. An issue that has often come up is that many borrowers are able to incur enough expenses to obtain full forgiveness within a period that is longer than 8 weeks but perhaps far shorter than 24 weeks. This has led to the question: Do I need to wait the full 24 weeks before we apply for forgiveness?
Up until now the answer was yes, however the IFR release has clarified that a borrower can apply for forgiveness at any time after or DURING their covered period. This will allow borrowers to get the process rolling and perhaps allow them to wrap up the forgiveness process prior to the end of the year.
Update on Salary and Wage Reduction Rule: The IFR also indicates “If the borrower applies for forgiveness before the end of the covered period and has reduced any employee’s salaries or wages in excess of 25 percent, the borrower must account for the excess salary reduction for the full 8-week or 24-week covered period.”
This is meaningful because it indicates that you will need to account for salary reductions through your full covered period even if you apply for forgiveness early. As an example, if you reduced an employee’s salary in excess of 25% for the first 12 weeks of your covered period, when applying for forgiveness you need to assume that reduction will have been in place for all 24 weeks for purposes of the forgiveness calculation. No guidance was issued about what to do if there are FTE reductions during the covered period.
The new IFR clarified many other points regarding the loan forgiveness process, and all of the salient ones are included in Withum’s 06/20/2020 webinar on loan forgiveness. It will be posted on Withum’s website afterwards.
Reminder Section: (what should I be doing):
People are not machines. Running an engine for 16 hours will result in twice the output achieved by running it for 8 hours… but the same math does not apply to our workforce. It is a well-known fact that working longer hours each day, and more days per week, results in reduced worker productivity. However, while it is easy to calculate the difference between overtime premiums and straight time labor costs on a spreadsheet, calculating the real costs of productivity impacts caused by extended periods of overtime work is less clear-cut. So how do we explain, estimate, and account for this lost productivity? In this webinar, John Koontz explains the three types of overtime typically found in construction and talks about the three universally accepted methods of calculating overtime impact costs. Most importantly, he covers the preferred and most effective method of OT impact calculation, which incorporates all three methods. We can’t always avoid overtime, and we certainly can’t avoid the productivity impacts that result from working extended hours – but we can learn to use the information contained in the 2020 Edition of the MCAA Change Orders-Productivity-Overtime Primer to make a solid case for recouping impact costs associated with working overtime.
Additional Resources:
This webinar was recorded June 23, 2020.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is concerned that hand sanitizers manufactured by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico may contain methanol (wood alcohol), which can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested. The FDA has identified the following products manufactured by Eskbiochem:
Alston & Bird have released their June 22 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
Updated Loan Forgiveness Application: The SBA released two loan applications, one is an updated version and the other is a new “EZ” form. Withum has analyzed both in this article. The EZ form allows borrowers to ignore FTE and headcount reduction calculations and fill out a truncated form if they meet one of three criteria. True to form, some of the criteria requires meaningful clarification, specifically the third one noted in the article. There are rumors that a number of new FAQs are coming out within the next week or so.
With respect to the criteria below, it is unclear if the borrower needs to demonstrate an inability to operate at a point in time, or a period of time. Also the SBA calls out requirements and/or guidance issued by three specific Federal organizations, and for the most part the restrictions on commerce have been imposed by States. Withum assumes more clarification is coming or borrowers will have to scour the websites of the three Federal organizations listed to see what restrictions or guidance have been provided.
“Borrower was unable to operate during the CP at the same level of business activity as before 2/15/20 due to compliance with requirements established or guidance issued between 3/1/20 and 12/31/20 by HHS, CDC or OSHA, relating related to the maintenance of standards of sanitation, social distancing, or any other work or customer safety requirement related to COVID-19.”
New Bill in Congress Relating to the PPP: It’s a new week, so there is of course a new Bill in the works. This one is called the Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program (P4) Act. This Bill is designed to allow small companies (less than 100 employees) to obtain a second PPP loan if they exhausted their current PPP loan and have suffered a 50%+ reduction in business as a result of COVID. This Bill was just introduced and we will see if it picks up steam in the coming weeks.
Updated Loan Forgiveness Calculation: The rules relating to loan forgiveness have evolved over time. Withum has updated the article on the mechanics of loan forgiveness here for those who are looking for updates and examples.
Reminder Section: (what should I be doing):
OSHA recently released the new COVID-19 publication Guidance on Returning to Work. The publication addresses planning for reopening, applicable OSHA standards, employer FAQs, and much more.
MCAA is saddened by the loss of Robert T. Armistead, P.E., who served as our President in 2010. He died peacefully at his home on June 16, 2020, surrounded by his loving family. Our thoughts are with Susan, Robert, Kane, Bryan and the extended Armistead family during this difficult time. “Bob truly loved the MCAA and his time with everyone involved in the organization. He will be greatly missed,” said Timothy J. Brink, MCAA’s Chief Executive Officer.
In an announcement to MCA of New Jersey, Inc. members, Executive Director Marty Drobny said, “We will miss our friend much. His positive impact within the industry will live on forever.”
Bob was President of Armistead Mechanical, Inc., a fourth-generation mechanical contracting and engineering firm that predominantly serves the New Jersey and New York Hudson Valley areas. The company specializes in commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, air conditioning and process piping. Raised in the family business, Bob worked there over summers and school breaks, learned the trade in the field and later worked with the estimators and project managers in the office.
After college and Navy service, Bob returned to the family business, where under his leadership, Armistead Mechanical developed an impressive project portfolio and a staff that is known for excellent customer service.
When Bob brought his energetic style and understanding of the details of the industry to MCAA, his strong belief in educating students led to an invitation to serve on the MCAA Career Development Committee, where he tirelessly volunteered his time to aid in the development of programs and services for our industry’s future leaders. In fact, Bob was one of the committee’s longest serving members, acting as a judge during the final round of the annual Student Chapter Competition at many of our annual conventions, and helping to set the standard for the dynamic program it has become today.
A natural off-shoot of his service on the Career Development Committee, Bob’s passion for perpetuating the flow of talent into the industry also extended to his position on the National Board of the ACE Mentor Program that educates and mentors high school students about careers in the architecture, construction—including the building trades, and engineering. He also served the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation, now the John R. Gentille Foundation, which funds many of MCAA’s student chapter activities. He also served on the foundation’s Board of Trustees as well as on the MCAA Technology Committee.
On a personal note, Bob was blessed with a beautiful wife of over 50 years, Susan, and three sons, Robert, Kane, and Bryan, who work in the family business. In his spare time, Bob served on the Orange County Industrial Development Agency and was active with the Boy Scouts, winning the Orange County Boy Scouts’ Distinguished Citizen Award in October of 2009.
Due to the current national health crisis and continuing restrictions, funeral services and interment will take place privately, and a memorial event celebrating Robert’s life will be planned for a later date.
Friends are encouraged to share stories, photos, and memories of him with the family by sending letters to: The Armisteads at 6 Hilltop Drive in Goshen, NY 10924.
In lieu of sending flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the following organizations:
